Fixed point fir filter with adaptive truncation and clipping and wireless mobile station using same

ABSTRACT

A fixed point finite impulse response (FIR) filter comprising: 1) an input stage for receiving an input signal as a sequence of input samples comprising: i) delay elements connected in series for receiving and shifting N sequential input samples; ii) multipliers, each multiplier receiving a selected one of the N sequential input samples from the delay elements and multiplying the selected input sample by a corresponding coefficient to produce an intermediate product; and iii) a summer for receiving and adding N intermediate products from the multipliers to produce an output sum signal comprising a sequence of output sum samples; and 2) an output stage for truncating k least significant bits (LSBs) from each of the output sum samples, wherein k is a variable number.

TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention is generally directed to communication devices,and more specifically, to a finite impulse response (FIR) filter thatuses adaptive truncation and clipping in a wireless communicationdevice.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

In conventional wireless code division multiple access (WCDMA) systems,the power of the adjacent channel could be as much as 40.7 dB higherthan the in-band signal power received by the base station or mobilestation. This significant difference requires that conventional basebandmatched filters have a large dynamic range. Conventional fixed pointfinite impulse response (FIR) filters typically implement truncation andclipping scheme after the correlation block. The truncation and clippingscheme truncates a fixed number of the least significant bits from thecorrelator outputs and clips the signal peaks at some fixed saturationlevel. However, to cope with the large dynamic range of the filterinput, conventional fixed point FIR filters typically use more outputbits than are required in order to avoid system performance degradation.This problem is unique to fixed point FIR filters, since floating pointFIR filters do not require clipping and truncation circuits.

Therefore, there is a need in the art for an improved finite impulseresponse (FIR) filter that is capable of processing input signals havinga potentially large dynamic range without requiring the use of a largenumber of extra filter output bits to retain system performance. Inparticular, there is a need in the art for an improved FIR filter havingreduced complexity that is able to process input signals having largedynamic ranges wherein size of the FIR filter outputs are optimized forthe in-band signal power.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

To address the above-discussed deficiencies of the prior art, it is aprimary object of the present invention to provide an improved fixedpoint finite impulse response (FIR) filter. According to an advantageousembodiment of the present invention, the fixed point FIR filtercomprises: 1) an input stage capable of receiving an input signal as asequence of input samples, the input stage comprising: i) a plurality ofdelay elements connected in series capable of receiving and shifting Nsequential input samples; ii) a plurality of multipliers, each of themultipliers capable of receiving a selected one of the N sequentialinput samples from the plurality of delay elements and multiplying theselected input sample by a corresponding coefficient to thereby producean intermediate product; and iii) a summer capable of receiving andadding N intermediate products from the plurality of multipliers tothereby produce an output sum signal comprising a sequence of output sumsamples; and 2) an output stage capable of truncating k leastsignificant bits (LSBs) from each of the output sum samples, wherein kis a variable number, to thereby produce a sequence of filtered outputsamples.

According to one embodiment of the present invention, the output stagecomprises: 1) a variable gain amplifier capable of multiplying each ofthe output sum samples by a variable gain factor to produce a sequenceof shifted output samples, wherein a most significant bit of the eachoutput sum sample is shifted a variable amount to a desired bitposition; and 2) a feedforward gain controller capable of determining apower of the each output sum sample and, in response to thedetermination, adjusting the variable gain factor.

According to another embodiment of the present invention, the outputstage comprises: 1) a variable gain amplifier capable of multiplyingeach of the output sum samples by a variable gain factor to produce asequence of shifted output samples, wherein a most significant bit ofthe each output sum sample is shifted a variable amount to a desired bitposition; and 2) a feedback gain controller capable of determining apower of each filtered output sample and, in response to thedetermination, adjusting the variable gain factor so that an optimumnumber of the filtered output samples are saturated.

According to still another embodiment of the present invention, theoutput stage comprises: 1) a variable truncation unit capable oftruncating a variable number, k, of least significant bits from each ofthe output sum samples to thereby produce a sequence of truncatedsamples; and 2) a feedforward gain controller capable of controlling thevariable truncation unit, wherein the feedforward gain controllerdetermines a power of the each output sum sample and, in response to thedetermination, adjusts the variable number, k.

According to yet another embodiment of the present invention, the outputstage comprises: 1) a variable truncation unit capable of truncating avariable number, k, of least significant bits from each of the outputsum samples to thereby produce a sequence of truncated samples; and 2) afeedback gain controller capable of controlling the variable truncationunit, wherein the feedback gain controller determines a power of theeach filtered output sample and, in response to the determination,adjusts the variable number, k.

According to a further embodiment of the present invention, the outputstage further comprises a truncation unit capable of is receiving thesequence of shifted output samples from the variable gain amplifier andtruncating a fixed number of least significant bits from each shiftedoutput sample to thereby produce a sequence of truncated samples.

Before undertaking the DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION below, itmay be advantageous to set forth definitions of certain words andphrases used throughout this patent document: the terms “include” and“comprise,” as well as derivatives thereof, mean inclusion withoutlimitation; the term “or,” is inclusive, meaning and/or; the phrases“associated with” and “associated therewith,” as well as derivativesthereof, may mean to include, be included within, interconnect with,contain, be contained within, connect to or with, couple to or with, becommunicable with, cooperate with, interleave, juxtapose, be proximateto, be bound to or with, have, have a property of, or the like; and theterm “controller” means any device, system or part thereof that controlsat least one operation, such a device may be implemented in hardware,firmware or software, or some combination of at least two of the same.It should be noted that the functionality associated with any particularcontroller may be centralized or distributed, whether locally orremotely. Definitions for certain words and phrases are providedthroughout this patent document, those of ordinary skill in the artshould understand is that in many, if not most instances, suchdefinitions apply to prior, as well as future uses of such defined wordsand phrases.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

For a more complete understanding of the present invention and itsadvantages, reference is now made to the following description taken inconjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which like referencenumerals represent like parts:

FIG. 1 illustrates a wireless communication device according to anexemplary embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 illustrates a finite impulse response (FIR) filter according toan exemplary embodiment of the prior art;

FIG. 3 illustrates a finite impulse response (FIR) filter according to afirst exemplary embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 4 illustrates a finite impulse response (FIR) filter according to asecond exemplary embodiment of the present is invention;

FIG. 5 illustrates a finite impulse response (FIR) filter according to athird exemplary embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 6 illustrates a finite impulse response (FIR) filter according to afourth exemplary embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 7A illustrates a feed-forward calculation block for adaptivelydetermining the truncation value according to an exemplary embodiment ofthe present invention; and

FIG. 7B illustrates a feedback calculation block for adaptivelydetermining the truncation value according to an exemplary embodiment ofthe present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

FIGS. 1 through 7, discussed below, and the various embodiments used todescribe the principles of the present invention in this patent documentare by way of illustration only and should not be construed in any wayto limit the scope of the invention. Those skilled in the art willunderstand that the principles of the present invention may beimplemented in any suitably arranged wireless communication system.

FIG. 1 illustrates wireless communication device 100 according to anexemplary embodiment of the present invention. Wireless communicationdevice 100 is intended to be a generic representation of any type ofreceiver that may contain a fixed point finite impulse response (FIR)filter using adaptive truncation according to the principles of thepresent invention. Thus, in one embodiment of the present invention,wireless communication device 100 shown in FIG. 1 may be a portion of acellular telephone or a portion of a base station of a wireless network.In an alternate embodiment of the present invention, wirelesscommunication device 100 may be part of a wireless network card in apersonal computer (PC) operating in, for example, an IEEE 802.11compatible wireless local area network (LAN). Those skilled in the artwill recognize that the particular details set forth below with respectto wireless communication device 100 are by way of example only andshould not be construed so as to limit the scope of the presentinvention.

The receive path of wireless communication device 100 comprises antenna105, variable gain amplifier (VGA) 110, radio frequency (RF) filter 115,quadrature phase shift keying (QPSK) demodulator 120,analog-to-digital-converters 125A and 125B, and automatic gain control(AGC) block 130. The receive path of wireless communication device 100also comprises fixed point finite impulse response (FIR) filters 135Aand 135B and demodulator block 140.

Variable gain amplifier (VGA) 110 amplifies the incoming RF signalreceive from antenna 105 by an amount determined by gain control signalreceive from AGC control block 130. RF filter 115 then filters theoutput of VGA 110. According to an exemplary embodiment of the presentinvention, RF filter 115 may be any one of several infinite impulseresponse (IIR) filters that have the primary function of isolating thefrequencies of interest (i.e., band selection, channel selection,low-pass filtering) and perform anti-aliasing for ADC-sampling.

QPSK demodulator 120 then demodulates the filtered RF signal to producean intermediate frequency (IF) signal or a baseband signal. According toan exemplary embodiment of the present invention, the incoming RF signalis a quadrature phase-shift keying (QPSK) signal and the outputs of QPSKdemodulator 120 are an in-phase (I) output signal and a quadrature (Q)output signal. The in-phase (I) output signal from QPSK demodulator 120is converted from an analog signal to a digital signal byanalog-to-digital converter (ADC) 125A. The quadrature (Q) output signalfrom QPSK demodulator 120 is converted from an analog signal to adigital signal by analog-to-digital converter (ADC) 125B.

The digitized I and Q output signals from ADC 125A and ADC 125B are fedback to AGC block 130. AGC block 130 functions in such a manner that thetotal power of the in-band signals and the out-of-band adjacent channelsignals are maintained at a constant level at the outputs of ADC 125Aand ADC 125B. The power of the in-band signals at the outputs of ADC125A and 125B is kept constant by AGC block 130 even if there are strongadjacent channel signals.

The outputs of ADC 125A and ADC 125B are filtered by fixed point FIRfilter 135A and fixed point FIR filter 135B, respectively. FIR filter135A and FIR filter 135B are matched filters, so that only the in-bandsignals remain at the outputs of FIR filter 135A and FIR filter 135B.Since the strengths of the in-band signals at the outputs of ADC 125Aand 125B vary according to the strength of the adjacent channel signals,the power of signals at the outputs of FIR filter 135A and FIR filter135B also vary.

Advantageously, since RF filter 115 is typically a 3^(rd) or 4^(th)order Butterworth filter or Chebycheshev filter that provides only about18-24 dB attenuation at the center of the adjacent channel, fixed pointFIR filter 135A and fixed point FIR filter 135B also act as an adjacentchannel selectivity filters that provide about 40 dB attenuation at thecenter of the adjacent channel.

Next, demodulator 140 demodulates the in-phase baseband signal tothereby recover the symbols of the in-phase baseband signal. Similarly,demodulator 140 demodulates the quadrature baseband signal to therebyrecover the symbols of the quadrature baseband signal. The recoveredsymbols comprise the Data Out signal at the output of demodulator 140.

FIG. 2 illustrates fixed point finite impulse response (FIR) filter 200according to an exemplary embodiment of the prior art. Prior art FIRfilter 200 may be used in place of FIR filter 135A and FIR filter 135Ein FIG. 1. FIR filter 200 comprises a chain of N−1 sequential delay (D)elements, including exemplary delay (D) elements 201, 202, 203, 204 and205. FIR filter 200 also comprises N multipliers, including exemplarymultipliers 211, 212, 213, 214, 215 and 216. FIR filter 200 alsocomprises summer 220, least significant bit (LSB) truncation block 230and saturation block 240.

The Data In signal received from ADC 125A or ADC 125B comprises asequence of r-bit digital samples. These r-bit digital samples shiftsequentially through the N−1 delay elements, including exemplary delayelements 201-205. The N multipliers, including exemplary multipliers211-216 multiply N sequential samples of the Data In signal by the Nfilter coefficients c(0), c(1), . . . c(N−1), and c(N).

The intermediate signal at the output of summer 220 comprises a sequenceof m-bit digital samples, where m is greater than r. For example, in anexemplary embodiment of the present invention, r may be 6 bits and m maybe from 17 bits to 20 bits. In order to reduce the complexity of FIRfilter 200 and subsequent stages of wireless communication device 100,LSB truncation block 230 truncates (i.e., cuts off) the k leastsignificant bits from the m-bit intermediate signal received from summer220. Saturation block 240 compares the (m−k)-bit truncated output fromLSB truncation block 230 to a maximum threshold and a minimum thresholdand outputs a p-bit output at the Data Out signal. If the (m−k)-bittruncated output from LSB truncation block 230 exceeds the maximumthreshold, saturation block 230 outputs a maximum saturation value. Itthe (m−k)-bit truncated output from LSB truncation block 230 is lessthan the minimum threshold, saturation block 230 outputs a minimumsaturation value.

For example, let m=17, k=8 and p=6. LSB truncation block 230 drops thenine (9) least significant bits from the 17-bit intermediate signal fromsummer 220 and outputs a (17-8)=9-bit value to saturation block 240. Therange of the 6-bit output (p=6) from saturation block 240 is from +31 to−32. Saturation block 240 compares each 9-bit value from LSB truncationblock 230 to +31 and −32. If the 9-bit value from LSB truncation block230 is greater than +31, saturation block 240 outputs a maximumsaturation value equal to +31 (i.e., 011111 in 2s-complement). If the9-bit value from LSB truncation block 230 is less than −32, saturationblock 240 outputs a minimum saturation value equal to −31 (i.e., 111111in 2s-complement). If the 9-bit value from LSB truncation block 230 isbetween +31 and −32 inclusive, saturation block 240 outputs a 6-bitvalue equal to the 9-bit output of LSB truncation block 230.

However, the wide dynamic range of the m-bit output from summer 220causes problems in the performance of wireless communication device 100.The above-described operation of FIR filter 200 provides a quantizationwindow having a width of p bits at bit position k. Given a signal powerof m bits at the output of summer 220 and a Data Out signal of p bits,the higher the quantization window, the more rounding noise, and thelower the quantization window, the more overflow noise.

There is an optimal window position for the given power of the inputsignal of m bits at the output of summer 220. However, while thisoptimal window position may change, conventional fixed point FIR filterdesigns use quantization windows that have a fixed width and a fixed bitposition. This leads to performance degradation. The present inventionovercomes this problem by providing an apparatus that is capable ofperforming adaptive truncation, wherein the value of k may be modifiedin order to truncate a variable number of bits from the output of summer220.

FIG. 3 illustrates fixed point finite impulse response (FIR) filter 135according to a first exemplary embodiment of the present invention. FIRfilter 135 represents one or both of fixed point FIR filters 135A and135B in FIG. 1. FIR filter 135 comprises a chain of N−1 sequential delay(D) elements (e.g., shift registers), including exemplary delay (D)elements 201, 202, 203, 204 and 205. FIR filter 135 also comprises Nmultipliers, including exemplary multipliers 211, 212, 213, 214, 215 and216. FIR filter 135 also comprises summer 220, variable gain amplifier310, feed-forward control block 320, least significant bit (LSB)truncation block 230 and saturation block 240. The input stages of FIRfilter 135, up to and including summer 220, operate identically to theinput stages of FIR filter 200 and need not be discussed in detailagain.

However, the m-bit output of summer 220 is multiplied by a variableamount of gain by variable gain amplifier 310 before being applied toLSB truncation block 230. The amount of gain is controlled byfeed-forward control block 320. Feed-forward control block 320 measuresthe signal strength of the m-bit output of summer 220 and adjusts thegain (G) of amplifier 310 in order to keep the power of the samplesentering LSB truncation block 230 in a desired target range.

For example, if a p=6 bit output (including sign bit) is desired for theData Out signal and k=7 bits of truncation, then feed-forward controlblock 320 adjusts the gain of amplifier 310 (up or down), so that themost significant bits of the peaks of the samples entering LSBtruncation block 230 are approximately bit positions 12 or 13, orperhaps bit position 14 (disregarding occasional very large peaks).After the k=7 least significant bits are dropped, the peak valuesentering LSB truncation block 230 will have their most significant bitsin bit positions 5 or 6, or perhaps bit position 7 (not counting thesign bit). In this manner, most samples at the output of saturationblock 240 make full use of the range between +31 and −32 in valuewithout a large number of saturation values being generated.

FIG. 4 illustrates finite impulse response (FIR) filter 135 according toa second exemplary embodiment of the present invention. As in FIG. 3,FIR filter 135 comprises a chain of N−1 sequential delay (D) elements,including exemplary delay (D) elements 201, 202, 203, 204 and 205. FIRfilter 135 also comprises N multipliers, including exemplary multipliers211, 212, 213, 214, 215 and 216. FIR filter 135 also comprises summer220, variable gain amplifier 410, feedback control block 420, leastsignificant bit (LSB) truncation block 230 and saturation block 240. Theinput stages of FIR filter 135, up to and including summer 220, operateidentically to the input stages of FIR filter 200 and need not bediscussed in detail again.

As in the case of FIR filter 125 in FIG. 3, the m-bit output of summer220 is multiplied by a variable amount of gain by variable gainamplifier 410 before being applied to LSB truncation block 230. However,the amount of gain is controlled by feedback control block 420 (ratherthan a feedforward controller). Feedback control block 420, discussedbelow in greater detail, measures the signal strength of the p-bitoutput saturation block 240 to determine the number of output samplesthat are saturated and adjusts the gain (G) of amplifier 410 in order tokeep the power of the samples entering LSB truncation block 230 in adesired target range. The desired target range reduces the number ofoutput samples in Data Out that are saturated to an optimum level.

FIG. 5 illustrates finite impulse response (FIR) filter 135 according toa third exemplary embodiment of the present invention. As in FIGS. 3 and4, FIR filter 135 comprises a chain of N−1 sequential delay (D)elements, including exemplary delay (D) elements 201, 202, 203, 204 and205. FIR filter 135 also comprises N multipliers, including exemplarymultipliers 211, 212, 213, 214, 215 and 216. FIR filter 135 furthercomprises summer 220, feed-forward calculation block 520, leastsignificant bit (LSB) truncation block 530 and saturation block 240. Theinput stages of FIR filter 135, up to and including is summer 220,operate identically to the input stages of FIR filter 200 and need notbe discussed in detail again.

The m-bit output of summer 220 is applied directly to the input of LSBtruncation block 530 (i.e., without gain amplification). However, unlikethe above-described LSB truncation block 230, LSB truncation block 530truncates a variable number, k, of least significant bits from the m-bitoutput of summer 220. The value of k is determined by feed-forwardcalculation block 520. Feed-forward calculation block 520, discussedbelow in greater detail, measures the signal strength of the m-bitoutput of summer 220 and adjusts the value of k in LSB truncation block530 so that the power of the samples exiting LSB truncation block 530are in a desired target range.

FIG. 6 illustrates finite impulse response (FIR) filter 135 according toa fourth exemplary embodiment of the present invention. As in FIG. 3-5,FIR filter 135 comprises a chain of N−1 sequential delay (D) elements,including exemplary delay (D) elements 201, 202, 203, 204 and 205. FIRfilter 135 also comprises N multipliers, including exemplary multipliers211, 212, 213, 214, 215 and 216. FIR filter 135 further comprises summer220, feedback calculation block 620, least significant bit (LSB)truncation block 630, and saturation block 240. The input stages of FIRfilter 135, up to and including summer 220, operate identically to theinput stages of FIR filter 200 and need not be discussed in detailagain.

The m-bit output of summer 220 is applied directly to the input of LSBtruncation block 630 (i.e., without gain amplification). LSB truncationblock 630 truncates a variable number, k, of least significant bits fromthe m-bit output of summer 220. The value of k is determined by feedbackcalculation block 620. Feedback calculation block 620, discussed belowin greater detail, measures the signal strength of the p-bit outputsaturation block 240 to determine the number of output samples that aresaturated and adjusts the value of k in order to keep the power of thesamples exiting LSB truncation block 630 in a desired target range. Thedesired target range reduces the number of output samples in Data Outthat are saturated to an optimum level.

FIG. 7A illustrates feed-forward calculation block 520 for adaptivelydetermining the truncation value, k, according to an exemplaryembodiment of the present invention. Feed-forward calculation block 520receives the m-bit outputs of summer 220 and periodically generatesvalues of k. It is noted that feed-forward control block 320 functionsin a manner that corresponds to the following description offeed-forward calculation block 520, except that feed-forward controlblock 320 generates values of gain, G, that are used by amplifier 310.

Feed-forward calculation block 520 comprises power estimation block 702,sum and dump block 704, filter 706, and log₂ [X/Threshold1] block 708.Power estimation block 702 receives the m-bit samples from summer 220and calculates the power of the samples. Power estimation block 702 maytake the absolute value or square value of the signal as the powerestimate. Sum and dump block 704 receives the power estimate values frompower estimation block 702, adds consecutive groups of W power estimatevalues together, divides each sum by W, and outputs the results. Inessence, sum and dump block 704 calculates the average value of eachgroup of W consecutive power estimate values received from powerestimation block 702. Thus, the data rate at the output of sum and dumpblock 704 is 1/W the data rate at the output of power estimation block702.

Filter 706 then filters the average values from the output of sum anddump block 704 to reduce noise and jitter. The smoothed and filteredoutput of filter 706 is then applied to log₂ [X/Threshold1] block 708.In an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, the value Xrepresents the bit weight of the most significant bit in the output offilter 706. For example, if the output of filter 706 is 0000010000001000binary (1032 decimal), the 11^(th) bit is the most significant bit and Xequals 1024. The pre-determined Threshold1 value is set so that thecorrect number of bits, k, are truncated from the output of filter 1024for a target power output level.

For example, if Threshold1=64 and X=1024, then [X/Threshold1] equals 16and the output of log₂ [X/Threshold] block 708 is k=4. If the output ofsummer 220 is 0001010000001000 binary (5128 decimal) and four bits aretruncated from the output of summer 220, then the input to saturationblock 240 is the value 000101000000.

FIG. 7B illustrates feedback calculation block 620 for adaptivelydetermining the truncation value according to an exemplary embodiment ofthe present invention. Feedback calculation block 620 receives the p-bitoutputs from saturation block 240 and periodically generates values ofk. It is noted that feedback control block 420 functions in a mannerthat corresponds to the following description of feedback calculationblock 620, except that feedback control block 420 generates values ofgain, G, that are used by amplifier 410.

Feedback calculation block 620 comprises power estimation block 752, sumand dump block 754, adder 756, filter 758, decision block 760, andintegration block 762. Power estimation block 752 receives the p-bitsamples from saturation block 240 and calculates the power of thesamples. Sum and dump block 754 receives the power estimate values frompower estimation block 752, adds consecutive groups of W power estimatevalues together, divides each sum by W, and outputs the results. Inessence, sum and dump block 754 calculates the average value of eachgroup of W consecutive power estimate values received from powerestimation block 752. Thus, the data rate at the output of sum and dumpblock 754 is 1/W the data rate at the output of power estimation block752.

Next, adder 756 subtracts a pre-determined Threshold2 value from thepower average values at the output of sum and dump block 754. TheThreshold2 value in FIG. 7B is different than the Threshold) value inblock 708 in FIG. 7A. The output of adder 756 is an error value that maybe equal to 0, may be greater or equal to 1, or may be less than orequal to −1. The error value from adder 756 is filtered and smoothed byfilter 758. The output of decision block 760 has only three values: +1,0, or −1. If the filtered error value is less than +(Threshold3) andgreater than −(Threshold3), then the output of decision block 760 is 0.If the filtered error value is equal to +(Threshold3) or greater, thenthe output of decision block 760 is +1. If the filtered error value isequal to −(Threshold3) or less, then the output of decision block 760 is−1. The Threshold3 value in decision block 760 is different than theThreshold) value in is block 708 and the Threshold2 block in adder 756.The Threshold3 value is used to further remove jitter in output k. Thus,the output of decision block 760 is a sequence of +1, 0 and −1 valuesthat are integrated by integration block 762. The output of integrationblock 762 is the value k.

If the p-bit output power from saturation block 240 are too high (i.e.,frequent saturations), then the outputs of sum and dump block 754 areconsistently higher than the Threshold value on the input of adder 756.As a result, the error values from adder 756 are consistently greaterthan or equal to +1 and the outputs of decision block 760 are mostly +1values. This causes the output of integration block 762 to rise and thevalue of k increase. This results in a greater number of leastsignificant bits being truncated from the output of summer 220 and theaverage power of the p-bit outputs of saturation block 240 decreases.Conversely, if the p-bit output values from saturation block 240 are toolow, a smaller number of least significant bits are truncated from theoutput of summer 220 and the average power of the p-bit outputs ofsaturation block 240 increases.

In the embodiments illustrated above in FIGS. 3-6, the input stage ofFIR filter 135 (i.e., delay elements 201-205, multipliers 211-216 andsummer 220) is a direct form realization of an FIR filter. However,those skilled in the art will recognize that FIR filter 135 may beembodied as any type of FIR filter, including, for example, a transposefilter realization. Generally speaking, the input stage of any FIRfilter receives input samples having a relatively small number ofsignificant bits and generates outputs samples having a relatively largenumber of bits. Advantageously, adaptive truncation circuitry accordingto the principles of the present invention may be easily implementedwith any type of FIR filter input stage.

Although the present invention has been described with an exemplaryembodiment, various changes and modifications may be suggested to oneskilled in the art. It is intended that the present invention encompasssuch changes and modifications as fall within the scope of the appendedclaims.

1.-33. (canceled)
 34. A fixed point finite impulse response (FIR) filtercomprising: a filter input stage configured to receive an input signalas a sequence of input samples and to generate an intermediate signalcomprising a sequence of filtered samples, wherein the filtered sampleshave a larger number of bits than the input samples; and an output stageconfigured to truncate k least significant bits from each of thefiltered samples to generate a sequence of output samples, wherein theoutput stage is configured to perform adaptive truncation where a valueof k is modified in order to truncate a variable number of leastsignificant bits from the filtered samples during operation of the fixedpoint FIR filter; wherein the output stage comprises: a feedforwardcontroller configured to determine a power of each filtered sample and,in response to the determination, adjust the value of k; and a variabletruncation unit configured to truncate the k least significant bits fromeach of the filtered samples to thereby generate a sequence of truncatedsamples. 35.-41. (canceled)
 42. The fixed point FIR filter as set forthin claim 34, wherein the output stage further comprises a saturationunit configured to receive the sequence of truncated samples, clip onesof the truncated samples exceeding a positive maximum threshold value ata positive saturation value, and clip ones of the truncated samplesexceeding a negative maximum threshold value at a negative saturationvalue to thereby generate the sequence of output samples. 43.-44.(canceled)
 45. A wireless communication device comprising: 1) a radiofrequency (RF) receiver front-end configured to receive an incoming RFsignal and down-convert said the incoming RF signal to a demodulatedsignal; and 2) a fixed point finite impulse response (FIR) filterconfigured to receive the demodulated signal as a sequence of inputsamples, the fixed point FIR filter comprising: a filter input stageconfigured to receive the input samples and to generate an intermediatesignal comprising a sequence of filtered samples, wherein the filteredsamples have a larger number of bits than the input samples; and anoutput stage configured to truncate k least significant bits from eachof the filtered samples to generate a sequence of output samples,wherein the output stage is configured to perform adaptive truncationwhere a value of k is modified in order to truncate a variable number ofleast significant bits from the filtered samples during operation of thefixed point FIR filter; wherein the output stage comprises: afeedforward controller configured to determine a power of each filteredsample and, in response to the determination, adjust the value of k; anda variable truncation unit configured to truncate the k leastsignificant bits from each of the filtered samples to thereby generate asequence of truncated samples. 46.-52. (canceled)
 53. The wirelesscommunication device as set forth in claim 45, wherein the output stagefurther comprises a saturation unit configured to receive the sequenceof truncated samples, clip ones of the truncated samples exceeding apositive maximum threshold value at a positive saturation value, andclip ones of the truncated samples exceeding a negative maximumthreshold value at a negative saturation value to thereby generate thesequence of output samples. 54.-55. (canceled)
 56. A method, comprising:receiving an input signal as a sequence of input samples; generating anintermediate signal comprising a sequence of filtered samples, whereinthe filtered samples have a larger number of bits than the inputsamples; and truncating k least significant bits from each of thefiltered samples to thereby generate a sequence of output samples,wherein the truncating comprises performing adaptive truncation where avalue of k is modified in order to truncate a variable number of leastsignificant bits from the filtered samples; wherein performing theadaptive truncation comprises: determining a power of each filteredsample; adjusting the value of k in response to the determination; andtruncating the k least significant bits from each of the filteredsamples to thereby generate a sequence of truncated samples. 57.(canceled)
 58. The method as set forth in claim 56, wherein thetruncating further comprises: clipping ones of the truncated samplesexceeding a positive maximum threshold value at a positive saturationvalue and clipping ones of the truncated samples exceeding a negativemaximum threshold value at a negative saturation value to therebygenerate the sequence of output samples.
 59. The fixed point FIR filteras set forth in claim 34, wherein the filter input stage comprises:multiple delay elements coupled in series, the delay elements configuredto receive and shift the input samples.
 60. The fixed point FIR filteras set forth in claim 34, wherein the filter input stage comprises:multiple multipliers configured to multiply the input samples by filtercoefficients to generate intermediate products; and a summer configuredto sum the intermediate products to generate the filtered samples. 61.The fixed point FIR filter as set forth in claim 34, wherein the FIRfilter comprises N−1 delay elements coupled in series and N multipliers.62. The fixed point FIR filter as set forth in claim 61, wherein themultipliers comprise: N−1 multipliers, each coupled to an input of oneof the delay elements; and an N^(th) multiplier coupled to an output ofa last of the delay elements.
 63. The fixed point FIR filter as setforth in claim 34, wherein the feedforward controller comprises: a powerestimation unit configured to receive the filtered samples and toestimate powers of the filtered samples; a sum and dump unit configuredto receive the power estimates and to average groups of the powerestimates; a filter configured to filter the average power estimates;and a logarithmic unit configured to apply a logarithmic function to thefiltered average power estimates to generate the value of k.
 64. Thewireless communication device as set forth in claim 45, wherein thefilter input stage comprises: multiple delay elements coupled in series,the delay elements configured to receive and shift the input samples.65. The wireless communication device as set forth in claim 45, whereinthe filter input stage comprises: multiple multipliers configured tomultiply the input samples by filter coefficients to generateintermediate products; and a summer configured to sum the intermediateproducts to generate the filtered samples.
 66. The wirelesscommunication device as set forth in claim 45, wherein the FIR filtercomprises N−1 delay elements coupled in series and N multipliers. 67.The wireless communication device as set forth in claim 66, wherein themultipliers comprise: N−1 multipliers, each coupled to an input of oneof the delay elements; and an N^(th) multiplier coupled to an output ofa last of the delay elements.
 68. The wireless communication device asset forth in claim 45, wherein the feedforward controller comprises: apower estimation unit configured to receive the filtered samples and toestimate powers of the filtered samples; a sum and dump unit configuredto receive the power estimates and to average groups of the powerestimates; a filter configured to filter the average power estimates;and a logarithmic unit configured to apply a logarithmic function to thefiltered average power estimates to generate the value of k.
 69. Themethod as set forth in claim 56, wherein generating the intermediatesignal comprises: multiplying the input samples by filter coefficientsto generate intermediate products; and summing the intermediate productsto generate the filtered samples.
 70. The method as set forth in claim69, wherein multiplying the input samples by the filter coefficientscomprises using N−1 delay elements coupled in series and N multipliers.71. The method as set forth in claim 70, wherein the multiplierscomprise: N−1 multipliers, each coupled to an input of one of the delayelements; and an N^(th) multiplier coupled to an output of a last of thedelay elements.
 72. The method as set forth in claim 56, whereinperforming the adaptive truncation comprises: estimating powers of thefiltered samples; averaging groups of the power estimates; filtering theaverage power estimates; and applying a logarithmic function to thefiltered average power estimates to generate the value of k.